Matthew 23:13-36
Lexham English Bible
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in[a] to enter.[b]
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one,[c] you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’[d] 17 Fools and blind people! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’[e] 19 Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20 Therefore the one who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it. 21 And the one who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary[f] to do these things while not neglecting those.[g] 24 Blind guides who filter out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish,[h] so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! 28 In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!’ 31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! 32 And you—fill up the measure of your fathers! 33 Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? 34 For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, 35 so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation!
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 23:13 Here the present tense has been translated as voluntative (“wanting to go in”)
- Matthew 23:13 The most important Greek manuscripts omit v. 14, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you devour widows’ houses and for show you pray long prayers! Therefore you will receive the greater condemnation.”
- Matthew 23:15 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 23:16 The phrase “by his oath” is not in the Greek text but is implied
- Matthew 23:18 The phrase “by his oath” is not in the Greek text but is implied
- Matthew 23:23 Some manuscripts have “But it was necessary”
- Matthew 23:23 Literally “and those not to neglect”
- Matthew 23:26 Some manuscripts omit “and the dish”
Matthew 23:13-36
Christian Standard Bible
13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.[a](A)
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert,(B) and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides,(C) who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath(D) by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’[b] 17 Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 Also, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’ 19 Blind people![c] For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?(E) 20 Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. 21 The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells(F) in it. 22 And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne(G) and by him who sits on it.(H)
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of[d] mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,(I) mercy, and faithfulness.[e] These things should have been done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides!(J) You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed[f] and self-indulgence.(K) 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,[g] so that the outside of it[h] may also become clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,(L) which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we wouldn’t have taken part with them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors’ sins!(M)
33 “Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?[i](N) 34 This is why I am sending you prophets,(O) sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues(P) and pursue from town to town. 35 So all the righteous blood shed on the earth will be charged to you,[j] from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah,(Q) son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.(R) 36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come on this generation.(S)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 23:13 Some mss include v. 14: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment.
- 23:16 Lit is obligated, also in v. 18
- 23:19 Other mss read Fools and blind
- 23:23 Or You tithe
- 23:23 Or faith
- 23:25 Or full of violence
- 23:26 Other mss add and dish
- 23:26 Other mss read of them
- 23:33 Lit escape from the judgment of gehenna
- 23:35 Lit will come on you
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